Jaipur: Swishin Ventures, led by serial investor and industry veteran Mahavir Pratap Sharma, has receivd Sebi’s category 1 licence to launch $20 million fund with a greenshoe option of $5 million, focussed on funding entrepreneurs from Tier-II and Tier-III cities.Seeking to bridge the funding gap for Tier-II and Tier-III city founders, it looks to investing across consumer, BSFSI, healthcare and DeepTech supporting portfolio companies with follow on rounds for continued support to deliver maximum impact.Speaking to TOI, Sharma said, “In recent years, the startup buzz has expanded to Tier-II and Tier-III cities with the number of ventures growing 45% in 2023. They now accunt for 51% of the total statrtups in the country but VC funding is less than 4%.”Sharma said while the focus will be on providing seed capital, the fund is open to make further capital reinforcements till series A to nurture promising startups to grow big on national stage.Sharma, who served as global chairman of TiE and became the founding chairman of TiE angel funding, has over 35 years of experience in mentoring and has also inved in over 40 startups.Eloborating on the potential, Sharma said these cities, about 750, have competitive yet affordable talent pool, producing 60% engineering graduates.“They are home to 15% of tech talent and have produced 13 of the 118 unicorns in the country. Niti Aayog has launched a special fund for these cities. For some leading ecommerce players, these cities account for 75-80% of their transacting customers,” said Sharma. On the other hand, Swishin Ventures is also looking to fill a gap where the local family-run businesses can become part of the rapidly growing startup ecosystem. Sharma said, “There are many family businesses who look beyond equity markets to park their money. They are also very keen to leverage the tech transformation with their investments. With funds like Swishin Ventures being locally avilable, they can also ride the startup wave.”He said family businesses should invest at least 10% of their surplus income in startups to diversify portofolio and also leverage new-age businesses.
